Vehicle-brake.



C. J. DALE.

VEHICLE BRAKE.

APPLICATION FILED 13120.17, 191a.

Patented Sept. 8, 1914.

I T O L 05 flaw-M.

gal AM/ZZI 1H: NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOTOLHHO. WASHINGTON. 0 c

CHARLES JACKSON DALE, OF TOIiIS CREEK, VIRGINIA.

VEHICLE-BRAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 8, 1914.

Application filed December 17. 1913. Serial No. 807,255.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I. Cuaurns JACKSON I)ALE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Toms tlreek, in the county of Wise and State of Virginia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Vehicleirakes, of which the following; is a speciiioa tion.

The primary object of the present inven tion is to provide a braking device for vehicles W rich is automatic in its operation to impede the movement of the same. in descending grades. braking stress impart ed to said vehicle being in proportion to the pitch of the grade.

A. further object in view is the provision of means tor setting the braking device, whereby to increase braking power app i cable to the vehicle according to the load car-- ried thereby.

More specifically speaking, it is contenr plated to provide actuating mechanism connected to the brake beam or shoe of a Wagon, involving a peculiar operating member normally inactive until the vehicle descends the grade, whereimon said member is acted upon by gravity and through the instrumentality of gears braking action is ii'nparted to the brake member aforesaid.

lVith the above and other objects in view, this invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts all as hereinafter more fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accmnpanying drawin wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary view of the running gear 01 a vehicle such a wagon, showing my braking mechanism attached thereto. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, parts being broken away to show more clearly the details of construction. Fig. 3 is a detail, enlarged view of a modified form of operating member for my braking device.

'Ilhroughout the following detail description, and on the several figures of the drawing, similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

Referring to the drawing, and specifically describing my invention, the numeral 1 indicates the perch or coupling pole, 2 the hind-hoinnls, 3 the rear axle and 4 the Wheels of a wagon to which the brakin mechanism is attached. This braking mechanism comprises a brake beam 5 suspended by means of the link members (3 from the supporting bar 7 disposed on the hind-hounds 2, said beam I} extending transversely of the vehicle as is usual and having secured to its extremities the usual brake shoes 8. Near the rear axle and extending parallel thereto is disposed an operating shaft 9 having its bearings 10 on the hounds 2 and adjacent this operating shaft is a second shaft 11 similarly mounted upon the hounds, said lastanemioned shaft being connected to the brake beam 5 by the connecting rods 12, one end ot caca of which engages in a vertical arm l1 on the second shaft, while the other end is connected to a spring 13. As shown in Fig. i. of the drawings each connecting rod i2 is provided with he spring 13 about one end and each of which springs is comprc d in its surrounding casing li-i when inngarting motion to the brake beam :3, these connecting members between the shaft 11 and the beam 5 being in spaced relation so as to properly in'iparti relative movement to the ends of the brake beam for braking the action of the vehicle as will be hereinafter mor fully set forth.

Upon the operating shaft 9 adjacent one end is iOQniLtd a spur gear a capable 01" meshing with a larger spur gear 7) carried by the shaft 11, and near the opposite ends of the shafts 5) and il are located the spur gear 0 and the larger spur gear (Z adapted. to cooperate therewith to impart ditl crential u'iovement to the b aking device in its actual operation. Secured to each extremity of the operating shaft 9 so as to extend vertically therefrom is the operating means coi'isis'ting ot a lever 14, which lever has extending torwardlv oi" the vehicle from its lower end an upwardly curved arm 15 upon vvhich arn: slidablv mounted a gravity actuating member or weight 1?). Each lever s niaisuiained in the vertical position shown n the drawings under normal conditions the tendency ol weight 16 to assume a position on the arm di1."ectly adjacent the base 01 the lever 1i and its normal position mentioned is maintained by the counterbalanced weight 1'7 slidably mounted upon the arm 18 extending rearwardly from the topmost portion of the lever 14, it being noted that the arm 18 inclines downwardly and thereby tending to cause the weight 17 to remain at the outer free end thereof.

The gear members a and (Z on operating shaft 9 carrying the operating means at its extremities are adapted to be shifted latorally to cause ci'igagement and disengage ment with differential gears c and Z), and any preferred means may be employed for causing shifting of said first mentioned gear memlau's such as the provision of a lever 19 having its extremity connec ed to the shaft 9 at any suitable point in the length of the same which lever through links 19 is capable of mov ing one of the gear members a and (Z into mesh and the other out of mesh with the cooperating gear elements 0 and n according to which direction the lever shifted.

Describing the use and operation of my invention as hereinbefore set forth, it is to be understood that the bral'iing device is set for operation according to the load on said vehicle prior to using the same. That to say. assuming that the vehicle is loaded the driver of the vehicle shifts, by moving the lever 19 laterally, the small pinion a into mesh with the large pinion 7). Upon the arrival of the vehicle at a descending grade immediately the vehicle has assumed an inclined position, the weight 16 on the arm 1.), under the action of gravity, starts to move outwardly along said arm and multanconsly weight 17 moves inwardly on the arm 18. The stable equilibrium of each of the levers 11 is thus overbalanced or made unstable. The shaft 9 is caused to rotate through the instrumentality of these levers, said rotation through the gears a and causing a draft on the connecting rods 12. immediately bringing the brake shoes 8 into contact with the wheels 4 of the vehicle. By reason of the ratio of the gears 64 and 7) sullicient braking stress is afforded by the shoes to insure gradual descent of the ve hicle down the grade. T he greater the in clination of said grade the farther the weight 16 will move out on the arm 15 and consequently the greater the braking stress applied. As soon as the vehicle has descended the grade the levers will assume their normal stable position, releasing the brake.

When the wagon is to be used in light condition or unloaded, the driver shifts the lever 19 in the direction opposite that hereinbefore mentioned bringing the gears a and 7) out of mesh and the gears 0 and (1 into mesh. Braking operation is then accomplished in the same manner when descending a grade as that described hereinbefore during the cooperation of the gears a and Z), excepting that the power due to the ratio of the gears d and 0 is considerably less. The interposition of the springs 13 between the connecting rods 12 and the brake beam 5 insures a resilient braking action and prevents likelihood of breakage of the parts in the use of the device.

It is comprehended that the levers 14 and their weights may be of considerable size and proportion according to the vehicle upon which they are applied and various changes may be made in the details of struc ture without departing from the spirit of my in ention, and within the scope of the claims hereto appended. It is noted that instead of using the full spur gears i) and (Z geared segments may be employed as will be understood by those skilled in the art to which this invention refers.

In Fi g. 3 I have shown a slightly modified form of operating lever 14 in which the lower upwardly inclined arm 15" is flanged to hold a roller or ball 16 capable of rolling along the arm to perform the function ascribed to the slidable weight 16 and in like manner the upper rear *ardly extending arm 18 in v be Hanged and cooperating tl'ierewith a roller or ball weight 1'? may be employed.

Having thus described my invention, claim as new is:

l. Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake member, an operating lever for said member normall inactive. when in stable equilibrium and operable to apply the brake member when its center of gravity is shifted, and a gravity actuating member carried by said lever and movable to unbalance the lever upon movement of the vehicle down grade.

2. Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake member, an operating lever operatively connected with said brake mem-- her and having an upright portion and an arm extending at an angle from one side of the same, and means adapted to travel on said arm away from the upright portion for actuating the lever upon movement of the vehicle down grade, the lever having another arm extending angnlarly from its other side, and counterbalance means on the latter arm for maintaining the lever normal and movable in a direction with respect to the upright portion aforesaid opposite to the means on the first mentioned arms in actuating the lever.

3. Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake member, an operating lever operatively connected with said brake member and having an arm extending therefrom, means adapted to travel on said arm in one direction whereby to overbalance and thereby actuate the lever upon movement of the vehicle down grade, said means being movable in the opposite direction when the vehicle again reaches level, and means carried by the lever for automatically normalizing the same on movement of the actuating means in the last mentioned direction and adapted to maintain the lever in normally inactive position.

4. Braking mechanism for a vehicle com prising a braking member disposed contiguous to the vehicle Wheels, an operating lever operatively connected with said braking what member and having an arm extending longitudinally of the vehicle, a weight member movable along said arm to actuate the lever upon movement of the vehicle down grade, said lever having a second arm extending in the opposite direction to the first-mentioned arm, and counterbalanced means disposed on the second-mentioned arm adapted to cooperate with the weight member aforesaid to maintain the lever in normal inactive position.

5. Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake member, operating means for said brake member comprising a lever, means for automatically actuating said levcr proportionate to the degree of declivity on movement of the vehicle down grade, a transverse shaft movable longitudinally, means intermediate the shaft and the brake member for controlling the extent of actuation of said brake member, and means for moving the shaft to vary its relation with respect to the controlling means according to the load carried by said vehicle.

6. Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake member, operating means for said brake member comprising a lever, means for automatically actuating the operating means, a shaft to which said lever is connected for rotation by said lever, a second shaft adjacent the first-mentioned shaft, gearing on said shafts, and a connecting member connecting the second shaft with the brake member whereby upon rotation of the first-mentioned shaft by the lever to actuate the brake member.

7 Braking mechanism for a vehicle comprising a brake shoe, an operating shaft operatively connected to said brake shoe for imparting braking action thereto, variable gearing on said shaft, a shifting lever cooperating with the shaft and operatively connected with the gearing for changing intermeshing relation of the same whereby to predeterminately set the gearing to vary the extent of braking stress imparted to the brake shoe according to the load of the vehicle, and means for actuating the operating shaft aforesaid in its set positions.

8. Braking mechanism for vehicles comprising a brake beam, brake shoes carried thereby, means for actuating said brake beam comprising an operating lever having an arm extending therefrom and inclining upwardly, a weight member movable on said arm to actuate said lever, the lever having a second arm extending oppositely to the arm aforesaid, a counterbalance weight movable on the second-mentioned arm for cooperation with the actuating weight aforesaid, an operating shaft for said lever, a second shaft adjacent the operating shaft, differential gearing carried by said shafts, means for shifting the gearing on the operating shaft to engage and disengage the gearing aforesaid, and connecting rods connected with the second-mentioned shaft and the brake beam.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES JACKSON DALE.

Witnesses:

S. H. PAPE,

CHAs. CoUcH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

